With summer just around the corner, the Gainesville Knowledge Connection is getting ready to make sure school age kids in the city of Gainesville once again can get to the library and other locations around town while school is out.
The partnership will enter its sixth summer come May 16, according to the Director of the Community Service Center Phillippa Lewis Moss.
"It began as a partnership with Gainesville City Schools, the Hall County Library System and the Hall Area Transit bus service," said Lewis-Moss. "We simply provide free rides to K through 12 students throughout the summer."
The main goal is to prevent "reading loss" for students, according to Lewis-Moss.
"You know, they're leaving school, they're not reading, they're not being active during the summer months," she said.
With the free rides, the students can go to the library, to the Quinlan Visual Arts Center, the Frances Meadows Center and other specified locations.
Lewis-Moss said the program works. She knows of one student who read the entire Harry Potter series - all because she was able to get a ride to the library.
"She didn't think she could do it, but she got so engaged, not only did she read at the physical library, but she read on the bus...she became a really big reader that summer."
Lewis-Moss said last summer more than 150 students took advantage of the free bus ride program.
She said United Way of Hall County is now a partner in the program; so is the Kiwanis Club of Gainesville, which gives financial backing for the Gainesville Knowledge Connection.
The program runs for more than 15 weeks - through August 31. More information is available on the City of Gainesville website.
